VP - Head Of Incident Response Management And Data Center

Job Description

Purpose of the role: The role is responsible for rapid detection, containment, and recovery from IT incidents while overseeing the strategic planning and 24x7 operation of the organization’s Datacenters. It ensures continuous availability, security, and performance of the Bank’s infrastructure, aligning all operations with business objectives and regulatory requirements

What You Will Do

Incident Response Management:

• Establish and govern the Bank’s Incident Response Framework aligned with ITIL and regulatory standards, lead Severity 1 & 2 incidents as Executive Incident Commander, and manage structured war‑room coordination, communication, and escalation.
• Ensure regulatory reporting compliance with CBUAE and external bodies, oversee severity classification and detection processes, govern Post‑Incident Reviews, and drive implementation of corrective and preventive actions.
• Conduct Root Cause Analyses, track incidents, prepare and present operational reports, and develop dashboards using Power BI, Tableau, or Excel to support data‑driven decision‑making
  
  

• Oversee 24×7 Datacentre operations across RAKHQ, ROC, and DSO, ensuring optimal uptime while managing servers, storage, networking, power, cooling, environmental controls, physical security, alert systems, bulk SMS systems, and access control.
• Ensure smooth EOD operations for core and surround systems, drive DR readiness and execution, and maintain full compliance with ISO 27001, PCI‑DSS, NESA, BCM, and internal audit requirements.
• Lead Datacentre modernization, capacity planning, cloud integration, and end‑to‑end infrastructure lifecycle management to support long‑term scalability and resilience.
  
  

• Manage daily EOD verification and maintain accurate DC checklists, process all Bulk SMS requests, administer SMS alert applications, and periodically review operational checklists with support teams.
• Coordinate with Facilities/Premises teams on power, flooring, CCU, and CCTV maintenance, ensure optimal environmental controls, and respond to emergencies including fire, power failures, outages, and critical DC activities.
• Provide support during DR switchovers and BCM‑driven drills, manage critical incident responses within the datacentre, and maintain strong working relationships and effective communication with all relevant departments.
  
  

• Lead Datacenter modernization and long-term resilience roadmap.
• Drive automation, observability enhancements, and operational efficiency.
  
  

• Experience in process automating routine data center tasks such as backups, health checks, log archiving, and system status reporting.
• Familiarity with automation tools like Ansible, Puppet, Chef, or custom-built scripts. Ability to write, test, and maintain scripts for monitoring, alerting, and configuration management.
  
  

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 12–15+ years in Datacenter, Infrastructure, or Incident Response leadership.
• People Management & Leadership: Lead teams for Incident Response and Datacenter Operations.
• Preferred certifications: ITIL v4, CDCP/CDCM, ISO 22301/27035.
• Ability to implement competency frameworks, workforce planning, and upskilling initiatives.
• Exposure to 24×7 coverage models, shift governance, and performance evaluations.
• Experience in governing vendor SLAs, strategic contracts and vendor oversight.
  
  

• MTTR for Severity 1 & Severity 2 incidents.
• Datacenter uptime (99.99%+).
• DR drill compliance & readiness.
• Reduction in recurring incidents and vendor SLA performance.
• Audit & regulatory compliance scores.
• In-depth knowledge of Datacenter infrastructure, including servers, storage, networking, and virtualization technologies.
• Experience with Datacenter management tools and software.
• Strong understanding of IT security principles and best practices and Git and GitHub for version control and collaboration.
  
  

• Pay for performance culture (Competitive and performance-linked compensation).
• Provision of medical care plan for your family and you.
• Comprehensive Life insurance plan.
• Diverse workforce and inclusive culture.
• Career development and growth opportunities by design.
• Work with the best minds in the field.
• Get opportunities to bring your whole-self to the organization and perform to your best.